Caol Ila 19 Years Old 1995 Cask #456 (Signatory)

Cask Strength Collection

700ml / 54.3%

Single Malt

$452

The Pitlochry bottler Signatory Vintage picked this Caol Ila, a 19 year old, at 54.3%. An elegant smoke carries grapefruit, salt and a green olive note. Water comes from Loch nam Ban, above the distillery. An east coast Islay distillery on the narrow Sound of Islay. This is the smoky workhorse of Johnnie Walker in single malt form.

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SKU CIL824 Categories Caol Ila, Islay, Scottish Whisky, Whiskey Brand: Caol Ila

Description

A Caol Ila drawn by the Pitlochry bottler Signatory Vintage, distilled in 1995, from cask 456, bottled at 54.3%, one of 303 bottles. Caol Ila was rebuilt in the 1970s into the large distillery it is today. From a small Victorian works it grew into one of Scotland's biggest malt distilleries.

This was drawn off the distillery's six tall stills from peated barley, shaping the lighter side of Islay. Maturation came in ex-Bourbon wood, the oak quiet behind the spirit. At oxidative maturity vanillin and lactones are fully expressed and ellagitannin tannins lend a polished, drying frame to the smoke. The tall stills and a high cut give a lighter, cleaner spirit than the southern Islays. A few weeks each year the distillery runs an unpeated, Highland style spirit. A ferry crosses the Sound from Port Askaig to Jura and the mainland. Years in oak round the smoke, the peat mellowing while the brine stays.

At cask strength 54.3% it is muscular. Sea spray, smoke and a citrus lift, with a touch of vanilla and toffee. The texture is oily, the smoke threaded with citrus. A smoky, oily warmth lingers with lemon and salt. This is the smoky malt of the Sound of Islay.